State flags license of accused Douglas Anderson teacher

The Florida Department of Education on Friday put an administrative notice on the teaching license of Corey Thayer, the former Duval Schools teacher accused last year of sexual acts against a 14-year-old student.

According to documents the department provided to Jacksonville Today, Florida Education Commissioner Manny Diaz Jr. asked for Thayer’s license to be flagged after Duval Schools sent documentation about the allegations to the Education Department this week.

“The safety of Florida students was recently jeopardized when it was reported that Mr. Thayer, an educator in Duval County, took advantage of his position of trust,” Diaz wrote in a letter requesting immediate administrative action. “I am committed to minimizing any potential threats to Florida students.”

Sydney Booker, a spokesperson for the Education Department, declined to confirm or deny that the state is formally investigating Thayer. But Booker said the administrative notice will ensure “any hiring district will be made aware of the allegations against Mr. Thayer.”

Investigations unclear

The former student — now an adult — told Duval Schools investigators last year that Thayer, now 55, assaulted her multiple times a decade ago on campus at Douglas Anderson School of the Arts.

The interview was transcribed by a court reporter, and Jacksonville Today recently received a copy of the transcription through a public records request to the district.

Records showed the state opened an investigation into Thayer in September 2023, but it was unclear what became of it. The state did not initially respond to a request for clarification.

After Jacksonville Today reported about the former student’s allegations, Duval School Board member April Carney sent the story to Randy Kosec, chief of the Education Department’s Office of Professional Practices, and asked whether the state was still investigating Thayer.

Kosec told Carney the state had closed its investigation Oct. 7, 2024, at the advice of the department’s general counsel. 

Kosec said neither the victim nor her attorney would meet for an interview and therefore they “have no victim in this case.” Email records provided to Jacksonville Today by the woman’s mother — with her permission — contradict that claim.

Thayer has not been charged with a crime. A spokesperson for the State Attorney’s Office told Jacksonville Today he could “neither confirm nor deny the presence of an investigation.”

Allegations against the teacher

The former student first told her mother about Thayer in 2015. Initially, she said Thayer had touched her inappropriately.

Her mother then reported him to then-Douglas Anderson Principal Jackie Cornelius and the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. The Sheriff’s Office referred the case to the Duval Schools Police Department, which briefly investigated. Duval Schools didn’t follow up with its own investigation. 

Documents show the district assigned an investigator to the case, but records indicate that “cases came in which were a higher priority” and so the investigator was “unable to conduct an investigation prior to resigning from (the school district).”

Jacksonville Today asked the district for a list of investigations completed by that investigator during that time frame, but no records were found.

The woman’s lawyer, Chris Moser, told Jacksonville Today that her client initially reported Thayer because she wanted to protect other students from also becoming victims. 

“It is imperative that we demand stronger, more decisive actions from our public officials,” Moser said.

After Jeffrey Clayton’s high-profile arrest in March 2023, the district received more complaints about Thayer — from the former student in this case and others.

After an email in April 2023 from this woman’s mother, Duval Schools removed Thayer from the classroom, returned him briefly for the new school year in August, then removed him permanently in September.

During the transcribed sworn interview with Duval Schools investigators in October 2023, the woman said Thayer repeatedly forced her to have sex with him — on campus at Douglas Anderson, during school.

Thayer resigned from the district in June. 

Moser said her client has cooperated with multiple agencies over the last 10 years and “remains ready to provide further testimony if it contributes to student safety.”

A few months ago, the woman settled a civil case with the district. Her mother told Jacksonville Today that they understood Thayer would lose his teaching license as part of the settlement. Until Commissioner Diaz’s direction Friday, Thayer’s license remained active and in good standing.

“I am extremely pleased with the Department of Education’s swift action,” School Board member Carney told Jacksonville Today. “Hopefully, at the end, justice will be done for these families.”